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Before the Covid-19
pandemic, I considered drug-resistant superbugs the biggest threat to
public health. And it turns out that, as with many other health issues,
Covid-19 oonly made the problem worse.
Superbugs are formed when
bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites become resistant to the drugs
typically used to treat the infections they cause.
Globally,
antibiotic-resistant infections kill about 700,000 people each year. That
number is expected to rise to 10 million deaths per year by 2050 if we
don’t take steps to stop the spread of superbugs.
That’s why the discovery of
two cases of an antibiotic-resistant strain
of gonorrhea in the US for the first time is discouraging.
The cases were discovered
in Massachusetts, but state health officials say they haven’t found a
connection between them.
So how do we begin to
combat these superbugs? Well, one of the main reasons we see such a rapid
spread has nothing to do with nature and everything to do with humans’
misuse and overprescription of antibiotics.
Remember: If you have a
cold or any other infection caused by a virus, like Covid-19, you do not
need to take an antibiotic.
The threat could also be
getting worse due to the use of antibiotics in your food. In
fact, the CDC says 20% of all drug-resistant infections come from our
food.
The answer isn’t to only
make stronger antibiotics but to continue to reduce our use of them. With
less exposure, germs won’t learn how to become resistant to them.
That can help stem the tide
of infections while scientists turn to nature
to find other ways to fight existing strains.
Vaccines could offer
another tool. The World Health Organization says that only one of the six
top pathogens causing drug-resistant infections has a vaccine, although
other vaccines are in different stages of clinical development.
The bottom line: These
infections are a threat we all must take seriously. Anyone can catch a superbug,
and there might not be anything available to treat it.
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